Chad Peters: A conversation with . . . Former Cowboy Jay Novacek

Continuing the recent run of former Cowboys attending training camp, Jay Novacek made an appearance at Friday’s practice at the Alamodome. The former Cowboys tight end was in a light-hearted mood, throwing out one one-liner after another as he chatted with members of the media for nearly 10 minutes.

What brings you to camp? Did Jason Garrett or Wade Wilson, your former teammates and current Cowboys coaches, ask you to come out here?

“No. No. Those guys don’t ask me to do a whole lot. That was the thing. I thought (once) Jason was going to get the offensive coordinator job, I figured I was getting a call as the tight ends coach. I thought we were like brothers, but obviously, he hired his real brother (John Garrett) instead.”

Have you even talked to Jason after he spurned you?

“I’m not that type of guy that holds grudges, except with media. No, we talked up at Valley Ranch and spent some time with Jason. I gave him a hard time, obviously. It’s fun watching him do what he loves to do.”

What kind of job do you think Garrett will do as the offensive coordinator?

“Oh, Jason’s gonna be all right. He’s got the ability to think a lot and portray that to his players. That’s very important. You can be the smartest guy in the world, but if you can’t tell them what you want and explain it so they can understand it, then it’s just not gonna work. And he’s able to do that.”

Could you tell when you played with him that he had this in him?

“No. I didn’t talk to him back then. Yeah, I think that I had no idea that he wanted to go into coaching. It doesn’t surprise me that he is. He was able to do things mentally on the football field to continue his career. And that’s real important when it comes to turning around and being a coach, where he’s able to be able to think through things and be able to do things that other people may not be able to really understand. He can do that.”

What are your thoughts on Michael Irvin going into the Hall of Fame next week?

“It’s well deserved. He’s a very good friend of mine, a guy I probably trusted as much as anybody on the field, especially lockering next me. He didn’t steal anything out of my lockers. Those little things all add up. But he deserves it. He was such a great player and a great individual. I love him dearly.”

Does any story come to mind of Irvin?

“One thing that he’s always done is he practiced hard. He practiced like he was scoring a touchdown in a game. Being able to do that and constantly do that every day at practice is tough to do. If someone can do that mentally, they’ve got it. I’ve said a lot about how Jason Garrett mentally can do it, Jason Witten mentally has it — Michael was as strong mentally as any player that ever played.”

Are you going to go to Canton for his induction?

“Oh, absolutely. Well, he didn’t invite me. But that’s not going to stop me. I’ll be there. Watching Troy (Aikman) last year, I had just the greatest time. I put that up there with winning Super Bowls. For whatever reason, I just that was really an unbelievable honor once I was there to be able to experience it. See, I guess Emmitt will be not inviting me next year? . . . A couple of more (years after)?”

Did you ever want to coach?

“Well, every . . . how many head coaches have (the Cowboys) had since I’ve been gone? I’ve applied for the job every year. Jerry (Jones) won’t even call back. I don’t know what the deal is.”

Do you have any predictions for this year’s Cowboys team?

“Prediction-wise, I guarantee they’ll win at least one game. That’s as far as I’m going. I don’t even know what the schedule is.”